The word rueful has appeared in 34 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Aug. 6 in “For Megan Rapinoe, an Ending Not Even She Could Have Imagined” by Jeré Longman:
It ended in the most excruciating way for Megan Rapinoe: a penalty kick skied over the crossbar, shock, disappointment, a rueful smile to herself.
“It’s just like a sick joke to miss a penalty,” Rapinoe said after the United States was eliminated, 5-4, on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie with Sweden on Sunday in the round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup in Melbourne, Australia.
Rapinoe could not remember the last time she missed a penalty kick. She was sent on as a substitute late in Sunday’s game because she was so reliable. It was her penalty kick that provided the decisive goal in the final of the 2019 World Cup. This time, accuracy betrayed her on a night when age and injury showed in her legs.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word rueful in a sentence?
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